brainpopfandomcom-20200223-history
Ludwig Van Beethoven/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim and Moby are at a CD store. Tim holds a CD in his hands. Beethoven's silhouette is on the cover. MOBY: Beep. TIM: What do you mean, you don't like this kind of music? Beethoven is awesome. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, Is Beethoven the best composer who ever lived? From, Alice. Well, most people think he's one of the best, and he's definitely among the most talented. An image shows Beethoven. TIM: Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, in December of 1770. A map of Europe shows Bonn, Germany. TIM: From early on, it was clear that he was really gifted. His father used to pull him out of bed in the middle of the night to perform for him and his friends when they came home from bars. An animation shows a baby Beethoven playing a small piano. TIM: When he was a young man, he moved to Vienna, Austria, to study under the composer Joseph Haydn. By his mid-twenties, Beethoven had already become a well-known pianist and composer. A map shows the route from Bonn, Germany to Vienna, Austria. TIM: Lots of people use the term classical, to talk about any music played by orchestras and symphonies in the western world. But not all classical music is the same. An animation shows silhouettes of a conductor and orchestra. TIM: Composers working in different time periods produced music that sounded different. An image shows three composers, one woman and two men, from different eras. TIM: Now this is gonna sound confusing, but one period of classical music was called the Classical period, and it lasted from about 1730 to 1820. An image shows a timeline titled, History of Classical Music. It spans the years 1400 to 2000 and includes Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th Century, and Contemporary periods. The Classical period is highlighted between 1730 and 1820. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, you, you think they could have called it something else; like, anything else! Well, anyway, Beethoven began his career by composing in the style of the Classical period. Music from this period was based on the principles of simplicity, balance, and proportion. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is a really famous piece from this era. An image shows the moon in the night sky while Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, performed by the Robbins Island Music Group, is heard. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, you can hear that it's balanced and kind of calm-sounding. But just after the turn of the nineteenth century, when he was in his late twenties, Beethoven's music started to change. It was also around this time that he started to lose his hearing. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, one of the most amazing things about Beethoven is that many of his greatest works were composed while he was mostly deaf. In fact, many scholars think that the magnificent works he composed were inspired by his struggle with deafness. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, like his awesome Fifth Symphony. You probably recognize the opening. The opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is heard. TIM: What's cool is that you can hear that four-note motif in all the movements of the composition. Another section of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is heard*. * Actually, this is Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Movement 4, performed by George Straka and the Vienna Philharmonic. TIM: That actually had never been done before. Beginning around 1816, the start of his last creative period, the music that Beethoven composed was really intense. Beethoven had a lot going on at that time; besides losing his hearing, he couldn't find anyone who would marry him, and he was often sick. So he got pretty depressed, and he expressed his struggles through music. An image shows Beethoven at his grand piano writing music. The top of the piano and the floor around him are all a mess, with papers, books, and other things thrown about. TIM: Probably the most famous piece from this later period is his Ninth Symphony. The last movement features a chorus, which was also a new thing to do. An animation shows a chorus being led by a conductor, and the orchestra in silhouette. TIM: Beethoven's later music doesn't sound much like his earlier music. It tends to sound more like the expressive and emotional music from the Romantic period of classical music, which started around 1820. The History of Classical Music chart appears with the word Romantic highlighted. TIM: That's why Beethoven is usually considered one of the key figures in the transition between the Classical and Romantic musical periods. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, Beethoven was also special because he didn't work for royalty or a church, like most other composers did back then. A split image shows an aristocratic home on the left and a large church on the right. Both are then crossed out with Xs. TIM: He made money from teaching, performing, and selling his music, but he also received money from wealthy people who just really liked his work. An animation shows sacks of money multiplying and stacking up. TIM: Beethoven was immensely popular during his life, and after his death in 1827, 20,000 people followed his casket through the streets of Vienna. An image shows a crowd of people in a square. TIM: I mean, it's hard to say who the greatest composer of all time is, but odds are that Beethoven comes out near the top. Tim walks out of the store. Moby and Tim are back home. Moby is listening to music wearing headphones. He is holding the same Beethoven CD that Tim had in the store. TIM: Uh, can I have my Beethoven CD back? Moby turns the volume up on the CD player and points to his headphone. MOBY: Beep. Tim frowns. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Arts & Music Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts